This invention relates to an improvement of a barge-carrying ship.
Conventional barge-carrying ships are roughly divided into two types, i.e., the LASH type which handles barges by a traveling crane on the deck and the SEA BEE type which relies on a trolley on the deck for barge handling. The former is limited in the number of barges that can be carried aboard the vessel because of the hatch covers and various other obstructive structures on the deck. Moreover, the barge handling efficiency is low with a single traveling crane, and the high initial investment of the crane makes the installation uneconomical. The latter renders it impossible to make use of the space below the lower deck and to shift the barges from level to level within the holds. Still further, the sorting of the barges by the destinations of their cargoes is made difficult by the inadequate deck space available, and the deck structure is a limiting factor for the accommodation of barges.
The present invention contemplates the provision of a barge-carrying ship for overcoming these problems in conventional vessels of the character described.